There aren’t too many more inherently refined animals in the horological bestiary than monopusher, two-register, column-wheel chronographs. They have a certain archaic fascination – I suppose you could say that about just about any mechanical watch, as far as that goes, but the single-button chronograph is the earliest type of chronograph watch mechanism, and the column wheel the earliest known type of control system for switching on and off, and for reset.

There aren’t too many more inherently refined animals in the horological bestiary than monopusher, two-register, column-wheel chronographs. They have a certain archaic fascination – I suppose you could say that about just about any mechanical watch, as far as that goes, but the single-button chronograph is the earliest type of chronograph watch mechanism, and the column wheel the earliest known type of control system for switching on and off, and for reset.

Vintage monopusher chronographs from major names like Patek Philippe can go for – well, see for yourself; and while there has been a bit of an increase in the number of monopusher chronographs at the less costly end of the spectrum in recent years (not that less than $5 million is setting the bar very high for “less costly”) like this very nice one from IWC that launched this year, they still have a bit of an aura of exclusivity, which, naturally, things like this monopusher rattrapante from Vacheron Constantin, and the out-of-production but still beloved Cartier CPC Tortue Mono-Pusher Chronograph, only enhance. And new monopusher chronograph watches are often judged by how well they adhere to certain vintage codes and expectations – elegance, relative simplicity, and clean, smooth operation of the chronograph being the most salient points to consider.

The Longines column-wheel, self-winding chronograph movement, caliber L788.2/ETA A08.L11, was first introduced in 2012, in a watch that was resolutely archaic in inspiration and design, and we liked that design very much when we first saw it. That watch represented, from a design standpoint, the transitional period between pocket watches and wristwatches, with its wire lugs, elongated Roman numerals, and rounded case; it was an impressive debut, and at a price point at which finding a column-wheel monopusher chronograph is unusual to say the least. They’re not totally unheard of (Meistersinger, for one, Breitling for another) but it’s still dramatically more common, for all sorts of obvious reasons, to find standard two-register chronos at this price point.

This particular model isn’t quite as old fashioned as the intro model in which this caliber launched, which is just fine – as wonderful as we thought that one was (it’s always great to see a design inspiration stay that true to its roots) it’s still going to have narrower appeal, and a narrower bandwidth for versatility, than something a little less specific. This particular reference, L2.800.4.53.0 (incidentally, there are several “Longines Column-Wheel Single Push Piece” chronographs in the catalogue that are distinguished from each other only by reference number).

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By the numbers, here’s what we’ve got: a 41 mm case (the thickness isn’t given on Longines’ website, however in the jaws of our micrometric calipers chez HODINKEE technical director Nicholas Manousos is calling it at 14 mm). The movement is a 13¼ ligne, 27 jewel, self-winding movement with 54 hours of power reserve; the balance vibrates at 28,800 vph. If those numbers sound familiar to you, they should; those are the specs of the ETA/Valjoux 7750 and this caliber looks like the 7750, but modified – a lot, we might add – for a column-wheel coordination system; lest our readers get the wrong idea we feel we should point out that putting a column-wheel system into what was original a cam-controlled chronograph is not exactly a matter of a simple drop-in replacement. There are two registers, a (very) unobtrusive date guichet, and reference L2.800.4.53.0 is a steel party: steel case, hands, and pin buckle, but all very nicely done, especially the hands, which would not look out of place on a five-figure dress chronograph from a blue-chip brand. One of our pet peeves is cheap looking hands on very expensive watches, and here the opposite is true – the execution of the hands on this watch does a lot to elevate it and create the impression of something much more expensive.

Fourteen millimeters is not dress watch thickness, but although it doesn’t feel like a dress chronograph per se, it’s still overall a very elegant piece of kit, sitting just a tiny bit high on the wrist. One of the very nicest things about this watch, and one that Longines deserves a lot of credit for, is the chronograph pusher feel. You might be surprised to hear, as we were to find, that this is quite simply one of the nicest feeling chronographs to operate that we’ve ever had in the office and we’ve had some nice chronographs in the office. Operation is smooth, not in the least bit notchy at the detent, with just a hint of resistance and then a very clean let-off as switching takes place, and it’s like that all the way through: stop, start, and reset.

Between the feeling of precision and genuinely luxurious smoothness in operation, and the quiet but definite sense of quality this watch has, we had a blast wearing it. We’ve left the best for last; this is a $3,150 wristwatch, which, considering how little you can get for that much money, and how much less you can get qualitatively than the reference L2.800.4.53.0 for a lot more money, makes this one hell of a Value Proposition.

See the Longines Heritage Collection in all its retro glory right here.